College of DuPage mascot to be cast in bronze

$54,000 commission for sculpture approved

Sculptor Matthew Placzek, who created this sculpture of Billy Bluejay for Creighton University in Omaha, will make a Chaparral statue for College of DuPage. (handout, Handout)

The college's board recently commissioned a $54,000 bronze-cast, 8-foot-tall sculpture of a chaparral, a type of fast-moving bird, to be built east of the school's Student Services Center on its campus at 425 Fawell Boulevard.

College of DuPage's roadrunner mascot will soon be a centerpiece on the Glen Ellyn campus.

The college's board recently commissioned a $54,000 bronze-cast, 8-foot-tall sculpture of a chaparral, a type of fast-moving bird, to be built east of the school's Student Services Center on its campus at 425 Fawell Boulevard.

The school's varsity athletics nickname, the Chaparrals, was coined when the school opened in 1967 and classes were held in office trailers and 40 leased suburban sites throughout the newly formed Community College District 502. Students and faculty had to drive from class-to-class since they had no campus base, becoming known as "roadrunners," according to college officials.

Today, while the Chaparral logo can be found on the school's football stadium and on sweatshirts and T-shirts the school sells, college officials hope the sculpture will help the school's current 27,000-some students further embrace the unique mascot.

"With the statue you'll see a real increase in a sense of identity with the mascot," said COD spokesman Joe Moore.

Sculptor Matthew Placzek, based in Omaha, Neb., was hired to create the bird after the college's president, Robert Breuder, received a postcard in the mail featuring a photo of a blue jay statue Placzek created for Creighton University in Omaha, whose mascot is Billy Bluejay.

"Mascots are an exciting subject, because they are so beloved by their school. There is a school pride associated with the pieces that I am thrilled to be a part of," said Placzek in an email. He has also created a bronze sculpture mascot for the University of South Alabama, he said.

Breuder and student leaders on campus are expected to approve the design before Placzek begins construction of the piece. A portion of construction costs for the sculpture will come from the student activities budget.

Placzek said he has begun the first phase of the steel structure and a foam layer, the basic shape of the chaparral, on which clay will be added and the details sculpted into place. He said he has gathered input from student leaders and from Breuder for the design of the piece. They "wanted a sense of movement and action in the work," Placzek said. "We will achieve this with the placement of the legs and feet."